Peripheral diagnostic methods for screening Alzheimer's disease using beta amyloid and intercellular communication

1. A method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in a human subject, the method comprising:

(a) treating a first sample of fibroblast skin cells from the subject with an amyloid beta peptide (Aβ);

(b) separately culturing in a culture medium on an extracellular matrix (i) the resulting Aβ-treated first sample, and (ii) a second sample of fibroblast skin cells from the subject that have not been treated with Aβ, wherein the extracellular matrix comprises laminin, collagen, heparin sulfate proteoglycans, entactin/nidogen, or any combination thereof;

(c) obtaining at least one image of each of the resulting cultured first and second samples; and

(d) morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples using at least one method selected from the group consisting of determining integrated score, determining area per number of aggregates, determining fractal dimension, determining lacunarity, and determining cell migration,

wherein the subject has Alzheimer's disease if there is no distinguishable difference between the results of the morphologic analyses of the first and second samples.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining integrated score, and wherein determining integrated score comprises determining cell aggregation characteristics selected from the group consisting of the existence of large aggregates, cell attachment to aggregates, evidence of aggregate growth, aggregate density (number per unit area), appearance of edges within aggregate networks, evidence of cell migration, closeness to percolation limit, or any combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining the area per number of aggregates.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining fractal dimension.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining lacunarity.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining cell migration.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples using at least two methods selected from the group consisting of determining integrated score, determining area per number of aggregates, determining fractal dimension, determining lacunarity, and determining cell migration.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining integrated score and determining area per number of aggregates.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining fractal dimension, determining lacunarity, and determining cell migration.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) comprises morphologically analyzing the images of the first and second samples by determining integrated score, determining area per number of aggregates, determining fractal dimension, determining lacunarity, and determining cell migration.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the culture medium comprises a growth factor.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (b) comprises culturing the first and second samples for a period of from about 24 hours to about 48 hours.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method distinguishes between Alzheimer's disease and non-Alzheimer's disease dementia (non-ADD).

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the non-ADD is chosen from Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease.